Repeating alarm-clock.



NO. 634,353. Patented 0617. 3, I899. M. C. JENSEN.

REPEATING ALARM CLOCK.

(Application filed June 20, 1899) (No llodol.)

TNE norms PETERS cc Pum'ouma. \VASHINGTOPL o. c.

MARTIN O. JENSEN, OF NASHVILLE, TE

PATENT ()FFICE.

NNESSEE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOUR'lll TO RICHARD l3. HERZER, OF SAME PLACE.

REPEATING ALARM-CLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,353, dated October 3, 1899.

Application filed \Tune 20, 1899.

To all whom, it ntcty concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN (l. J ENsEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, county of Davidson, State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Repeating Alarn1-Oloeks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in alarmclocks, and more particularly to mechanism for causing the ordinary alarm to be interrupted one or more times before the expiration 0f the period for sounding the alarm at any predetermined time.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide an interrupting mechanism for the purpose specified which shall be capable of ready application to any of the usual forms of clocks of any shape in which an alarm mechanism is used without the alteration or removal of any part of the mechanism of said clocks; second, to so construct the alarm-interrupting devices that they shall operate with the least amount of friction, so that no appreciable effect will be produced upon the operation of the time mechanism of the clock; third, to so construct said interrupting devices that the least amount of power shall be required to the performance of their function and the minimum number of parts to accom plish the result may be necessary; fourth, to provide a mechanism of the character defined which shall be certain and efficient in its aetion,and,iifth, to provide such a mechanism as can be applied to existing types of clocks or embodied in an ordinary clock at such little cost as to require little or no addition to the selling price of such clocks.

Vith these objects in view my invention consists in the novel combination and construction of parts and in details thereof, as hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1. is an elevation of my invention applied to aclock of rectangular shape with so much of the clock shown as will illustrate the application of my invention thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of myinvention detached from the clock. Figs. 3, t, and 5 are details hereinafter referred to.

Referring now to the drawings, in which Serial No. 721,180. No modehl the same reference-numerals relate to the same parts in all the views, the numeral 1 indicates the casing of the clock in dotted lines, upon which casing are mounted the bells 3, adapted to be struck with the striker or hammer 2 of the alarm mechanism and operated in the usual way by the alarm-train, not deemed necessary to show in detail herein, as such train is of common form, and well understood by those skilled in the art. I may say, however, that the hammer is carried by an arbor 19 or rock-shaft, which carries on one side of said hammer an alarm-verge 18, operated by the usualescape-wheel in the alarmtrain. The time-wheel 23 of the alarmtrain is slidably mounted, as usual, upon its arbor, said wheel being limited in its outward movement by the pin 26, fixed to a collar 25 on the arbor and normally engaging the face of the hub 24E of the wheel 25, said hub being normally forced into contact with the pin 26 by the flat spring 8, as shown in Figs. 1 and i.

In the face of the hub is a cam notch into which the pin passes when the wheel in its revolution reaches the point set for sounding the alarm.

The numerals 2E) and 30 indicate the hour and minute dial wheels of the time-train and, with the construction just described, consti 8o tute parts of an ordinary clock.

It is of course well understood that when the alarm is set for a predetermined time the pin 26 will drop into the notch in the hub 24: at such time and the hammer mechanism will be released, so as to allow the operatingspring to turn the hammer-wheel, the teeth of which are alternately engaged by the verge 18, thus vibrating the hammer and causing the latter to rapidly strike the bell or bells until the spring runs down. Such an alarm will be a continuouslysounding one during the alarm period, and by my invention, which I will now describe, this sounding will be interrupted periodically, so that instead of a 5 continuously-sounding alarm the said alarm will be intern'iittently sounded during the same alarm period for which the ordinary alarm is adjusted.

Mounted upon the frame 4: is a weak flat spring 5,which is normally engaged by a finger 9 on the spring 8, and extending upwardly from said spring 5 is a curved extension or finger 7, which is normallyin the path of finger 6 on the rock-shaft of the hammer, such finger 7 being so held as to cause it to engage the trip-finger 6 through the medium of the pressure of the spring 8 until the wheel 23 is released, at which time the wheel is moved outward on its arbor by spring 8, thus permitting its finger f) to release the pressure upon the spring 5, so that the latter may move away from the frame and withdraw its finger '7 from engagement with the trip-finger 6, thereby permitting the alarm to sound.

In order to interrupt the alarm, I provide a repeating wheel 16,which consists, preferably, of a disk having a flange at right angles to its face provided with recesses or notches 17 at suitable points, one side of the notches being inclined, while the other is abrupt, as shown in Fig. 5. This wheel is mounted upon an arbor 27 in the time-train and rotates coutinuously. Fulcrumed upon an extension of the arbor of the minute-dial wheel 30 is a lever 13, which is swung by a flanged sleeve 1i in the slotted end of the arbor 21. A pin 22 passes through holes in the flange and arbor, thereby providing a rocking joint for said lever at its fulcrum-point, as shown in Fig. 3. One end of this lever is bent at an angle, such bent portion being adapted to engage the flange on the repeating wheel and is preferably beveled at 28 to correspond with the bevel or incline of the notch 17. The other end of thelever 13 engages the lower end of a swinging arm 10, which is provided with a bent portion 1l,loosely hung in a suitable bearing fixed at the top of the frame sand engaging near said bearing the spring 5.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that as the repeating wheel 10 rotates during the alarm-sounding period while the bent arm of the lever 13 engages the flange of said wheel the lower end 12 of the lever 10 will be normally pressed toward the frame l by the said lever 13, thereby forcing the spring 5 toward the frame and causing the finger 7 to engage and hold the finger 6, thus locking the hammer against vibration; but as soon as the bent arm 15 of the lever 13 drops into a notch 17 the spring 5 will be released, so as to permit it to move outward, thus releasing the fingers 7 and 6 from engagement, allowing the hammer to vibrate, the duration of such vibration depending upon the length of the notch, and this operation will be repeated as often as a notch 17 or recess comes into alinement with the arm 15.

\Vhile I have shown the arm 11 as loosely hung to the frame, such arm maybe fixed thereto, although I deem the loose connection more desirable, because it requires less power to swing said arm in a loose pivotal connection than it would to bend it the required degree if it were fixed to the frame, and thus its operation by the repeating wheel will interfere less with the time-train, and, in fact, with the loose connection I find that no appreciable effect is produced upon the time. For a similar reason the lever 13 is loosely pivoted to the frame or to the arbor 21, the latter being conveniently arranged for the purpose. Moreover, by using two levers instead of one continuous structure between the repeating wheel and the spring 5 I further contribute to this result, and by using a weak spring 5 in addition to the spring 8 I provide the most certain means for engaging and disengaging the alarm mechanism, the interrupting mechanism being wholly under the control of the weak spring without reference to the stronger spring 8, thus requiring the least amount of power to effect the interruption of the alarm.

It will be observed from the foregoing description that my invention is adapted for ready attachment to existing clocks without alteration of any of the ordinary operating mechanism thereof and that the parts are so disposed that the least friction is produced by the additional mechanism constituting my improvement, and it will be obvious that no material change in construction will be necessary to enable its application to different types of clocks, as the shape of the levers may be readily altered to accommodate the different locations of the wheels in the clock-trains.

It will also be observed that the levers in my attachment are preferably round in crosssection, so that their fulcrum-poin ts may have the minimum bearing-surface consistent with the required strength,and, moreover,the pressure exerted on the repeating wheel is in the direction of its axis and at a single point, so that there is no tendency to binding of the repeating-wheel arbor in its bearing, the least friction being produced by such construction. Again, in my invention the time-spring is not influenced by the alarm-spring at any time, because the whole force of said alarm-spring is controlled by the fiat spring 5, as above described, and the only force required of the time-springis that sufficient to press the weak spring toward the striker, so that the finger 7 may engage and hold the finger (5, and this force is so very slight that it has no agpreciable effect upon the time. Furthermore, in

my device the parts are not only light and adapted to their functions, but are applied on the outside of the frame of the clock in plain view, where they can be readily attached and detached without necessitating the removal of any of the clock mechanism, thus facilitating not only application of the device to the clock, but repairs as well.

I claim as my invention- 1. In an alarm-clock, the combination with an alarm-train, and atime-tra-in, of an alarm mechanism operating at a predetermined time to sound the alarm, a repeating wheel in the time-train, a spring acting independently of the time-train and its spring, and arranged to hold the alarm mechanism out of action, a lever mechanism interposed between the repeating wheel and the sprin and adapted to engage the spring to cause the latter to hold the alarm mechanism out of action and to release said spring atintervals during the alarm period, whereby the action of the alarm mechanism is periodically interrupted.

2. In an alarm-clock, the combination with an alarm-train and a time-train, of an alarm mechanism operated at a predetermined time to sound the alarm, a tripping device normally holding said striking mechanism out of action and released when the alarm begins to sound, a repeating wheel in the time-train, and mechanism actuated by the repeating wheel and directly engaging the tripping device, to cause the same to release the alarm mechanism periodically during the sounding of the alarm, substantially as described.

3. In an alarm-clock, the combination with an alarm-train and a time-train, of an alarm mechanism operated at a predetermined time to sound the alarm, a repeating wheel in the time-train having cams thereon, alever having one end in engagement With said cams, an arm in engagement with the other end of said lever, a spring acting independently of the time-train and its spring and normally tending to press said arm outwardly and adapted to engage and hold the alarm mechanism, whereby, as the repeating wheel rotates, the cams may force the end of said lever outwardly and cause the spring to intermittently hold the alarm mechanism out of action during the alarm period, substantially as described.

alarm-clocks, consisting of a repeating wheel to be placed in the time-train, a lever having one end adapted to be operated by the said wheel, a swinging arm adapted to engage said lever at one point, a spring adapted to be attached to the frame of the clock and having an extension arranged to engage and hold the striker of the alarm mechanism and adapted to be engaged by the swinging arm, whereby 4. The herein-described attachment for the latter may press the spring into engagement with the striker, and thereby cause it to hold the same out of action, substantially as described.

5. In an alarm-clock, the combination with an alarm-train and a time-train, of a repeating wheel in the time-train, having camnotches on its face, a lever fulcrumed to a fixed part of the frame of the clock having a bent portion in contact with the repeating wheel, an arm pivotally mounted on the frame and having its free end engaged by the lever, a flat spring fixed to the frame of the clock and engaged by said arm, a trip-finger extending from said spring, an alarm mech anism normally held out of action by said trip-finger, but periodically released as the bent portion of the lever falls into the notches of the repeating wheel, as the latter rotates, substantially as described.

6. In an alarm-clock, the combination with the ti me-train and an alarm-train, of astriker of the alarm mechanism having a finger projecting from its arbor, the time-wheel slidably mounted on said arbor, the spring for sliding said wheel on said arbor, a second spring fixed to the frame of the clock, engaged by the first spring and adapted to nor mally engage and hold the finger on the striker of the alarm mechanism, a repeating mechanism in the time-train, and means interposed between said repeating mechanism and the said spring for periodically pressing the same into engagement with the projecting finger of the striker, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARTIN C. JENSEN.

lVitnesses:

WATKINs CROOKETT, TYLER CALHOUN. 

